On 16 July 2025 at the general assembly of the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, elections were conducted and Christine Luscombe (Professor, Okinawa University of Science and Technology) was elected Vice President for 2026-2027 and President for 2028-2029. Additionally, Miki Hasegawa (Professor, Aoyama Gakuin University) was elected to the Executive Board for 2026-2027. I would like to offer my congratulations.

 Founded in 1919, IUPAC is an international organisation that now comprises chemistry-related organisations representing 53 countries and regions, and can be considered the "United Nations of Chemistry". IUPAC engages in a wide range of activities, including determining international standards for elements and compounds, international academic exchange, human resource development, and correcting international disparities. This will be the third time a member of our society has served as the president of IUPAC, following Mr. Saburo Nagakura from 1981 to 1983 and Mr. Kazuyuki Tatsumi from 2012 to 2013.

Coincidentally, the Chemical Society of Japan will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2028. In this splendid milestone year, I would like to demonstrate to Japan and the world that chemistry can promise a prosperous future society. As world leaders in chemistry, we hope that the two professors selected this time will further strengthen collaboration among various institutions both in Japan and abroad and promote the development of chemistry and its dissemination throughout society.

Keiji Maruoka
President of the Chemical Society of Japan